No one personified Lake County's torrid growth more than County Board Chairman Robert Depke, nicknamed "Bulldozer Bob" by friends and foes for his propensity to build.
Now, his opponents are ripping up the county's political turf after the surprise defeat of Mr. Depke and two of his board allies.
The Republican primary victory last month by three slow-the-growth advocates could result in a board more leery of new projects and more receptive to environmental concerns.
"They could cause a slowdown in a manner that will be detrimental," worries Ron Galowich, chairman of Chicago developer Madison Group Holdings Inc., which has done numerous projects in Lake County. "The question is, how far will they go?"
Even more surprising for Republican-dominated Lake County: The board's five-member Democratic minority could benefit as the pro-and anti-growth Republican factions curry its support to win majorities on the 23-member panel.
It all adds up to a strange new era in Lake County politics.
Although the 66-year-old Mr. Depke will continue as a player, it will be only as Warren Township supervisor, a paid post he's held since 1961 that serves a booming area including Gurnee Mills mall, Six Flags theme

No one personified Lake County's torrid growth more than County Board Chairman Robert Depke, nicknamed "Bulldozer Bob" by friends and foes for his propensity to build.

Now, his opponents are ripping up the county's political turf after the surprise defeat of Mr. Depke and two of his board allies.

The Republican primary victory last month by three slow-the-growth advocates could result in a board more leery of new projects and more receptive to environmental concerns.

"They could cause a slowdown in a manner that will be detrimental," worries Ron Galowich, chairman of Chicago developer Madison Group Holdings Inc., which has done numerous projects in Lake County. "The question is, how far will they go?"

Even more surprising for Republican-dominated Lake County: The board's five-member Democratic minority could benefit as the pro-and anti-growth Republican factions curry its support to win majorities on the 23-member panel.

It all adds up to a strange new era in Lake County politics.

Although the 66-year-old Mr. Depke will continue as a player, it will be only as Warren Township supervisor, a paid post he's held since 1961 that serves a booming area including Gurnee Mills mall, Six Flags theme park and thousands of new homes.

Mr. Depke served several stints on the County Board, including the past five years as chairman. "There's not a call I'd make different," he says. "I believe in building."

But Mr. Depke concedes that he could have benefited from better public relations and admits he is stung by the loss. "I didn't want to go out as a loser," he says wistfully.

Roundly criticized

Conservationists and slower-growth advocates successfully associated Mr. Depke with the ills of Lake County's rapid development: traffic-choked roads, overcrowded schools, rising taxes. The chairman was also roundly criticized for pushing the $12-million extension of an east-west artery, Yorkhouse Road, through wetlands in the northeast corner of the county, near an environmental research project.

Mr. Depke was defeated by political newcomer Al Westerman, a 47-year-old landscape architect who previously worked for the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Two other Republican incumbents-Edward A. Fojtik of Fox Lake and Dick Raftis of Wildwood-also lost to slow-growth candidates.

"I knew there was opposition to Depke, but nothing (compared) to what I found when I talked to people," Mr. Westerman says. "He'd gone too far and been in office too long. People are being totally overwhelmed (by growth)."

Mr. Westerman's victory was remarkable, considering that he raised only $4,000 in campaign funds as of February, while his opponent had $60,000 available, with donations from homebuilders, contractors and others with a stake in development, according to the latest campaign disclosure documents.

Mr. Westerman made additional hay with a flippant public remark by Mr. Depke responding to concerns about rising taxes for schools: "So what? That's what happens."

The county chairman says today that new taxes are a part of life. "People moved in, they want to educate their kids."

After a 17.2% spurt in county population in the 1980s, growth has continued at a near-2% annual rate in the '90s, according to Lake County's Planning Department. Annual permits for single-family houses doubled last decade, to 4,103 in 1988 from 2,046 in 1984, then tapered off in the early 1990s before rebounding in 1994 to 3,827.

Environmentalists say their victory will restore balance to a board on which they've been outnumbered. The two factions will have equal weight, says board member Carol Calabresa, a Depke opponent. "The new board will be more cautious."

Right to sell at profit

But business executives-many of whom are fans and financial backers of Mr. Depke-point out that landowners have the right to sell their property at a profit, and commercial projects add to the county's tax base and create jobs.

"Although portions (of Lake County) are farm and rural, the better part is a metropolitan county," says Madison Group's Mr. Galo-wich. "You need roads that people can drive on."

Mr. Depke says he was skewered unfairly for his advocacy of several projects, such as a compromise plan that reduced the density of a farm-turned-subdivision in Vernon Hills to 2,100 homes from the 3,200 proposed by its developer.

1994 negotiation

And he helped negotiate a 1994 agreement in which industrial distributor W. W. Grainger Inc. donated more than 250 acres to the Forest Preserve District to gain approval for a controversial headquarters complex in an unincorporated area near Interstate 94. Opponents point out that the project was first rejected by the neighboring residential community of Mettawa, which feared noise and congestion.

Even Mr. Depke's critics concede that the chairman ran county government efficiently and rarely, if ever, equivocated. "Depke never hides," says Susan Zingle, president of a citizens group that led the fight opposing the Yorkhouse Road extension.

Mr. Depke's departure after the general election in November will leave a void in county government-and lead to a more fluid period in local politics.

The Democrats on the County Board, who have tended to be moderate on the growth issue, could gain new clout. One even could be elected chairman as a compromise choice.

Still uncertain is whether Mr. Depke will attempt a comeback, as he's done after previous defeats during his 35-year political career.

"I love it," he says, reflecting on his accomplishments. "That's the sad part."